Historical Society of Pottawattamie County

Outreach and Educational Programs

The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County serves people of all ages from southwest Iowa and southeast Nebraska. The Society provides educational tours and programs for grade schools, middle schools, and high school students.

The Squirrel Cage Jail is part of many historical bus tours from around the country from as far away as South Carolina and Utah.

The RailsWest Railroad Museum at the Rock Island Depot, in addition to our regular tours, offers several special programs for groups, especially suited for school audiences.

The RailsWest Railroad Museum offers a variety of educational programming all set in this charming 1899 restored Rock Island Depot. This Museum also boasts a large model railroad layout as well as a rail yard full of railcars and locomotives to explore.* The programs listed below are interactive, fun and engaging and appeal to a wide variety of learning styles.
*outside exhibits dependant upon fair weather

RailsWest Railroad Museum Special Programs:

	? All About Trains! Learn the difference between passenger and freight trains in this fun, fast paced tour. Children will see where people waited for their trains and walk inside real train cars! Ring the bell on a locomotive and operate a real model train. Comes with a fun handout to remember their trip! 30 Student maximum group size. Pre-school to 1st grade 30-40 min.
	? Railway Mail Service At one time, Council Bluffs was the largest mail center in the Nation! Come and see how things worked when mail was sorted on train cars! Lift a real mail bag, sort mail on the real mail car, and operate the mail crane. Take home your own envelope that you “hand-cancelled” from a Rock Island Railway Post Office. 45 min. Students should be able to read or be paired with a good reader for this program.
	? Station Agent and Depot See this center of the community come to life! Learn about the jobs at the Depot and what role they played in the community. Look behind the scenes at the Ticket Agents Office, try out the telegraph, and learn all about why Depots were so important! 30 min- 45 min

Lesson Plans/Units:

These Teacher's Guides have great information to use both before and after your visit!

	? "Journey to the Past" (PDF) For over 150 years, railroads have played an important role in the history of Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County and Omaha, NE. Here's information on the programs and tours of Council Bluffs' three railroad-oriented museums.
	? "A Railroad History of Council Bluffs" program materials (PDF)
	? "Railway Mail Service" program materials (PDF)

Outreach Coordinator

   The RailsWest Railroad Museum
   The Historic General Dodge House
   The Union Pacific Railroad Museum

phone: 402-501-3841
email: plabount@upcontractor.up.com

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The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa was founded in 1934 and is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to kindling and keeping alive an active interest in state and local history. Contributions and inquiries should be directed to the Society at P.O. Box 2, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51502-0002. For additional information, phone 712-323-2509 or e-mail us here.

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